The present invention concerns a glass module for a preferably self-supporting region or area of a wall, roof, or ceiling. The invention also concerns an area or region in a ceiling or roof composed of such modules.
Translucent wall areas composed of individual glass modules, xe2x80x9cglass beamsxe2x80x9d, are known. Particularly stable wall areas that employ glass modules in the form of lengths of L or U section are also familiar. Wall areas of this nature can, especially when double-walled, be self-supporting, meaning that they require no additional framing or support. Although highly stable self-supporting wall areas can be constructed with glass L or U section, that stability is still not sufficient in some applications with respect to possible break-in or fire. Furthermore, no glass module is currently known that can be depended upon to be self-supporting enough in roofs or ceilings. Roof and ceiling areas entirely or partly of glass must, to ensure stability, accordingly always be employed at the present in frames, specifically frames of metal or of s similar non-breakable material. The need for stability in glass ceilings or roofs in fact is particularly significant in that such structures are exposed to severe bending forces due to their own inherent weight and often to that of snow and ice. Furthermore, anyone happening to be below such ceilings or roofs must be reliably protected from falling shards in the event that the glass shatters. If part of a glass roof shatters, a significant number of falling shards could severely and even fatally injure anyone happening to be below it.
The object of the present invention is a glass module that can be employed for a self-supporting region or area of a wall, roof, or ceiling, that will comply with all specifications with regard to strength, especially to bending resistance, defense against destructive external forces, and protection against falling shards of glass.
This object is attained in accordance with the present invention in that the glass module consists of at least two components, at least one of which is a length of glass structural section, fastened together at their surfaces by cement or a laminating adhesive.
As hereintofore mentioned, glass structural section is in itself stable enough to be employed in the structural self-supporting wall areas. The glass structural section employed for the first component of the glass module is, however, reinforced in accordance with the present invention with at least another component fastened to it surface to surface. The result is powerful augmentation with only a slight increase in weight. If one of the components is destroyed by external forces or excessive load, any shards will remain attached to the other component. The glass module in accordance with the present invention will not only provide protection against collapse, but anyone under the ceiling or roof will be safe from falling shards. This feature is of particular significance in overhead glass module.
Composite glass panes, panes, that is, that are extensively flat and cemented together from two or more basic panes, are of course known. Panes constructed along these lines also provide a certain level of protection against destructive external forces. Wall areas and in particular ceiling and roof areas of composite glass, however, do not have enough inherent bending resistance and are accordingly not safe enough to be employed without additional supports or frames. A self-supporting roof module constructed of composite glass panes could not comply with the strict specification with respect to bending resistance reliably enough to protect people from falling shards of glass. Those of skill in the art have accordingly long sought ways of rendering glass modules stable enough to inherently resist powerful bending forces without the visually disruptive frames and supports of metal or other opaque materials. This long-existing problem, however, has at last been solved with surprising simplicity in accordance with the present invention.
An extremely high-stability wall area and in particular a self-supporting ceiling or roof area can now for the first time be constructed entirely or almost entirely of glass with no worries about the safety of anyone happening to be under it by exploiting the glass modules in accordance with the present invention recited in the accompanying claims.
The length of structural section that comprises one component of the module can have various cross-sections. L or U section is particularly appropriate for flat wall, roof, or ceiling areas. /2. Embodiments of the present invention wherein one component is of U section, with two flanges or walls connected by a base or web, or of L section, more or less component a U section, that is, with only one flange connected to the base, are accordingly preferred. The first component can just be float glass, in principle ordinary window glass, or clear glass. Since, however, the glass module must be able to withstand especially high stress, a reinforced glass is particular preferable for the first component. One example of such a material is wire-reinforced glass, glass with a network of wire embedded in it. The annealed glass called single-pane safety glass, however, will be even less likely to release shards. This glass is usually a float glass that has been re-heated to a high temperature, 600xc2x0 for instance, and quenched in cold air to increase its surface tension and achieve a specific inner stress and flexibility. It crumbles when struck by a pointed object. Partly stressed glass can also be employed instead of fully stressed glass. Its fragments will be slightly larger when it breaks than the xe2x80x9ccrumbsxe2x80x9d that form from stressed glass and will accordingly adhere tighter to the laminating adhesive, although still smaller than the fragments typical of untreated glass. It is often desirable for the surface of the glass module to have a decorative pattern instead of being smooth. In such cases the first component as well can be of ornamental glass. Combinations of such materials are of course also conceivablexe2x80x94ornamental wire-reinforced glass for example. The web of the structural section can be of a material other than that of the flanges. The flange or flanges in the first component can in particular be of reinforced glass in order to stabilize the module, while the web, which usually includes the visible surface, can be smooth or ornamented.
The glass modules in accordance with the present invention are particularly intended for the structural of wall, roof, or ceiling areas, flat areas in other words. Due to the requirement for bending resistance over a wide span particularly characteristic of roof and ceiling areas, embodiments of the present invention wherein the extensive supporting surface of the first component, the web of a length of L section or the webs of a length of U section, that is, is reinforce are preferred. This reinforcement is attained in accordance with one advantageous embodiment of the present invention /5. in that the second component is provided with a plain surface (although other forms are also conceivable in principle) that parallels the major plane or surface of the first component and is very close to it, whereby the cement or laminating adhesive securely fastens the entire preferably plain surface of the second component to the total major plane or surface of the first component. The area that supports the major surface of the first component will accordingly be reinforced by both the cement or laminating adhesive and by the second component fastened thereby to the first.
The glass module will be particularly stable when two lengths of glass structural section are cemented together, when, that is, the second component is itself a length of such section.
It is often desirable for the glass module to be invisibly reinforced. Such reinforcement can easily be achieved if the second component fits against or into or is cemented to or into the back of the first component. In one preferred embodiment accordingly, the glass structural section that constitutes the second component is smaller than the section constituting the first component. Like the first component, /7. the second component can in this event also have either a U-shaped cross-section, with two flanges and a web between them or an L-shaped cross-section with only one flange and one web. The modules that constitute the first and the second components can be positioned one in relation to the other in various ways. In one embodiment, only their webs rest against each other, and their total surfaces are fastened together with cement or a laminating adhesive. In another embodiment, only their flanges rest against one another and are fastened together with the cement or laminating adhesive. In still another embodiment, however, the two components are fastened together with their webs and with one or both flanges resting against each other. In this event, embodiments are conceivable wherein flanges of the lengths of glass structural section that constitute components are positioned in the same or in opposite directions. The cross-sectional shapes of the lengths that constitute the components can also slope toward one another at any desired angle around an axis extending perpendicular to the flanges or to the major surface. Embodiments wherein only the flanges are cemented to each other are also conceivable in principle, at least for section wherein at least one component has a U-shaped cross-section. Hollow shapes can accordingly also be constructed and either left empty or at least partly packed with cement or a laminating adhesive. One very stable embodiment can be achieved if both components are fastened together at the major surfaces facing away from their flanges with cement or a laminating adhesive. Preferred because more cost-effective, the two components will be identically shaped lengths. The most stable form for such an embodiment will be achieved when both components are of U-shaped section. Such a glass module will then for example have a cross-section in the shape of a double T. The two lengths of glass structural section can then obviously face each other rotated 90xc2x0 around an axis perpendicular to the their webs, with the flanges in the first component ensuring bending resistance in one direction and the others bending resistance in the other. When the second component is a length of glass structural section, any glass can of course also be employed that can be employed for the first component, whereby the flanges can be of a material than that of the webs. Embodiments of the present invention are also conceivable wherein the two components are of different kinds of glass, with for example the visible component being of ornamental glass and the less visible component of reinforced glass.
The second component, however, need not necessarily be a length of glass structural section. For some specific purposes only the first component must be of structural section. The second component will in this event preferably be a preferably flat plate or pane. To ensure uniform expansion subject to variations in temperature along with the usually desirable homogeneity of material in terms of attractiveness, it is preferable for the second component to be a pane of glass. Such a pane can for instance be of one of the material hereintofore mentioned as preferred for glass structural section. Another material appropriate for panes employed as second components, however, is laminated safety glass, the aforesaid materials being employed for the individual laminations. The second component employed as a pane and preferably flat (although other forms are also conceivable) can be fastened with cement or a laminating adhesive to the inner surface or outer surface of the web of the L-shaped or U-shaped first component.
The glass module in accordance with the present invention can be even stronger if three or more components are cemented together. One particularly advantageous embodiment, accordingly, /15. is characterized by a third component cemented total surface to total surface by the cement or laminating adhesive. A continuous surface without discontinuities but nevertheless extremely stable can be achieved if the second component is a large-surfaced pane of glass with the first, the third, and preferably even more components fastened adjacent against one plain side by the cement or laminating adhesive. It is preferred in this embodiment for the third and optionally the other components to be identical in shape with the first component. The most stable form, however, is one wherein the cemented-on components have a U-shaped cross-section. Very large-area but stable extents of glass can in this event be obtained by cementing several rows of components to the large-area pane. To prevent a straight potential-fracture line extending through the module, however, the components should be cemented on in separate rows.
Embodiments wherein the second component, either a length of glass structural section or a flat plate, is cemented to one side of the first component, while the third component, either a plate or a length of structural section, to the other side, opposite the first side, of the first component. The result will be a glass module with a core of structural section and the other two components cemented to each side to reinforce it.
Possibilities for the cement or laminating adhesive are in principle all materials used for the fabrication of composite glass panes. Composite glass panes, however, are usually clear, which is not always true of the glass modules in accordance with the present invention. Plastic sheet with adhesive on each side, casting resins, epoxide resins, and reinforced and even decorative adhesives are accordingly possibilities. Fabrics of woven or non-woven fiber, especially glass fiber, even wire screening, can be embedded into casting resin. The adhesive sheet can be fiber-reinforced. Decorative plastic sheet, dyed or patterned for example, can also conceivably be employed. For building areas that are exposed to the hazard of fire, it is also of advantage for the cement or laminating adhesive to include fire-prevention material, gel for instance, of the kind employed in the double-glazed systems typical of fire doors.
Since the glass modules in accordance with the present invention are designed to endure particularly high bending stresses, they can be employed without frames, supports, or other mounts. The components in accordance with the present invention can even be themselves exploited as supporting devices for other large-area glass modules fabricated in accordance with the present invention. Since the glass modules in accordance with the present invention are especially stable and fracture-resistant, it now becomes possible for the first time to provide them with xe2x80x9cboresxe2x80x9d, preferably round holes, that is, to accommodate fasteners, especially bolts or screws. A wall, roof, or ceiling area can accordingly be fastened to other areas of a building by such fasteners. It would even be conceivable in principle for example to build an entire hothouse entirely of glass, with the exception of fasteners and seals, out of modules in accordance with the present invention. Anyone inside such a glass structure built out of state-of-the-art modules would not be safe in every situation from falling shards or larger fragments. Protection against such hazards, however, is guaranteed by glass modules in accordance with the present invention.